Алевтина МИРОНОВА
Alevtina was a victim of the horrific fire in the wooden schoolhouse in the town of Elbarusovo, in the Chuvash Region of the USSR. On November 5, 1961, nearly the entire village was assembled at the school for a children's concert celebrating the anniversary of the October Revolution. Many adults were packed into the reception hall, along with about 200 children, from grades one to six (5 to 12 years old). To accommodate a crowd of this size, all of the desks were stacked up against the windows, clearing the floor... but blocking these potential exits.
While the show went on, in the adjoining room, a teacher and several students lit up an electric burner to keep warm. In an effort to encourage the tiny flame, the teacher added gasoline to the burner --- with catastrophic results. Flames shot up, and the startled teacher knocked over the can of fuel. In an instant, the schoolhouse was ablaze.
The trapped crowd began to panic, blinded by smoke and overwhelmed by the sudden flames. They rushed for the schoolhouse's two exists, but the emergency exit was locked and blocked by boxes. This left only the front door, and two open windows near the stage.
The adults stampeded towards these exits. Some fortunate children were carried along with the crowd, but many were forgotten or left behind. Within minutes, the entire schoolhouse was ablaze. The structure collapsed in on itself before firefighters could even make it to the scene.
In total, 106 children — almost half under the age of seven --- and four adults lost their lives to the flames. The disaster was immediately covered up by Soviet authorities; the townspeople were ordered never to speak of it, or the loved ones they had lost. The bodies were buried in a mass plot in the Elbarusovo cemetery, and over the years, their graves were allowed to fall into disrepair.
Only with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and a modern push to remember the disaster, has the horror of Elbarusovo come to light.
Alevtina was a victim of the horrific fire in the wooden schoolhouse in the town of Elbarusovo, in the Chuvash Region of the USSR. On November 5, 1961, nearly the entire village was assembled at the school for a children's concert celebrating the anniversary of the October Revolution. Many adults were packed into the reception hall, along with about 200 children, from grades one to six (5 to 12 years old). To accommodate a crowd of this size, all of the desks were stacked up against the windows, clearing the floor... but blocking these potential exits.
While the show went on, in the adjoining room, a teacher and several students lit up an electric burner to keep warm. In an effort to encourage the tiny flame, the teacher added gasoline to the burner --- with catastrophic results. Flames shot up, and the startled teacher knocked over the can of fuel. In an instant, the schoolhouse was ablaze.
The trapped crowd began to panic, blinded by smoke and overwhelmed by the sudden flames. They rushed for the schoolhouse's two exists, but the emergency exit was locked and blocked by boxes. This left only the front door, and two open windows near the stage.
The adults stampeded towards these exits. Some fortunate children were carried along with the crowd, but many were forgotten or left behind. Within minutes, the entire schoolhouse was ablaze. The structure collapsed in on itself before firefighters could even make it to the scene.
In total, 106 children — almost half under the age of seven --- and four adults lost their lives to the flames. The disaster was immediately covered up by Soviet authorities; the townspeople were ordered never to speak of it, or the loved ones they had lost. The bodies were buried in a mass plot in the Elbarusovo cemetery, and over the years, their graves were allowed to fall into disrepair.
Only with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and a modern push to remember the disaster, has the horror of Elbarusovo come to light.
Алевтина МИРОНОВА
Alevtina was a victim of the horrific fire in the wooden schoolhouse in the town of Elbarusovo, in the Chuvash Region of the USSR. On November 5, 1961, nearly the entire village was assembled at the school for a children's concert celebrating the anniversary of the October Revolution. Many adults were packed into the reception hall, along with about 200 children, from grades one to six (5 to 12 years old). To accommodate a crowd of this size, all of the desks were stacked up against the windows, clearing the floor... but blocking these potential exits.
While the show went on, in the adjoining room, a teacher and several students lit up an electric burner to keep warm. In an effort to encourage the tiny flame, the teacher added gasoline to the burner --- with catastrophic results. Flames shot up, and the startled teacher knocked over the can of fuel. In an instant, the schoolhouse was ablaze.
The trapped crowd began to panic, blinded by smoke and overwhelmed by the sudden flames. They rushed for the schoolhouse's two exists, but the emergency exit was locked and blocked by boxes. This left only the front door, and two open windows near the stage.
The adults stampeded towards these exits. Some fortunate children were carried along with the crowd, but many were forgotten or left behind. Within minutes, the entire schoolhouse was ablaze. The structure collapsed in on itself before firefighters could even make it to the scene.
In total, 106 children — almost half under the age of seven --- and four adults lost their lives to the flames. The disaster was immediately covered up by Soviet authorities; the townspeople were ordered never to speak of it, or the loved ones they had lost. The bodies were buried in a mass plot in the Elbarusovo cemetery, and over the years, their graves were allowed to fall into disrepair.
Only with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and a modern push to remember the disaster, has the horror of Elbarusovo come to light.
Alevtina was a victim of the horrific fire in the wooden schoolhouse in the town of Elbarusovo, in the Chuvash Region of the USSR. On November 5, 1961, nearly the entire village was assembled at the school for a children's concert celebrating the anniversary of the October Revolution. Many adults were packed into the reception hall, along with about 200 children, from grades one to six (5 to 12 years old). To accommodate a crowd of this size, all of the desks were stacked up against the windows, clearing the floor... but blocking these potential exits.
While the show went on, in the adjoining room, a teacher and several students lit up an electric burner to keep warm. In an effort to encourage the tiny flame, the teacher added gasoline to the burner --- with catastrophic results. Flames shot up, and the startled teacher knocked over the can of fuel. In an instant, the schoolhouse was ablaze.
The trapped crowd began to panic, blinded by smoke and overwhelmed by the sudden flames. They rushed for the schoolhouse's two exists, but the emergency exit was locked and blocked by boxes. This left only the front door, and two open windows near the stage.
The adults stampeded towards these exits. Some fortunate children were carried along with the crowd, but many were forgotten or left behind. Within minutes, the entire schoolhouse was ablaze. The structure collapsed in on itself before firefighters could even make it to the scene.
In total, 106 children — almost half under the age of seven --- and four adults lost their lives to the flames. The disaster was immediately covered up by Soviet authorities; the townspeople were ordered never to speak of it, or the loved ones they had lost. The bodies were buried in a mass plot in the Elbarusovo cemetery, and over the years, their graves were allowed to fall into disrepair.
Only with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and a modern push to remember the disaster, has the horror of Elbarusovo come to light.
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